Try security sooner than airport gate

The failed “Fruit of the Loom” bomber caused a big uproar within the air travel industry.

We must now be ready to “bare our all,” so to speak, by parading
through some new type of imaging device that can look through clothes
virtually.

Before, all we had to do was walk through a metal detector, then take
our shoes off to prove that we were capable of boarding and flying in
an airplane without blowing it up mid-flight.

Now, the Transportation Security Administration wants to “swab our
hands” for traces of explosives, in addition to all the other
meaningless tests. There was a report recently that stated the TSA had
a 4-year-old boy remove his leg braces so the braces and the boy could
be checked out properly. A 4-year-old boy? What are we coming to?

Recently in Saudi Arabia, a suicide bomber exploded a device inside a
building, in the room in which he was meeting a Saudi prince. This
bomber went through various checkpoints, but they could not find the
explosive that the bomber had inserted in his anal cavity. Are we now
going to have to bend over now to get through security?

Shame on our Department of Homeland Security and TSA for using
meaningless, degrading and humiliating security methods. All of these
searches are performed at some checkpoint after people have entered an
airport. What about before someone enters the airport? Where are the
security checkpoints there?

Where passengers, relatives and guests gather outside an airport
entrance or the unrestricted area just inside the lobby are obviously
among the more dangerous places to be. Anyone at any time immediately
adjacent to, and within the confines of, an airport building should be
suspect. After they get to the checkpoint, the damage has already been
done or could have been done.

The flight crew and the passengers are the best line of defense against
any subversive attack on the aircraft itself. We all must be vigilant
to watch who is around us, who is acting nervously, who might be
agitated, who might be carrying something suspicious and who might be
the next terrorist on our flight.

Several incidents have been averted by courageous passengers and
vigilant flight crews. We all should keep up the good work by being
aware of everyone around us, at airports, malls, churches, large stores
and large gatherings.

Let someone know when you spot something that is not normal. Our lives depend on our vigilance.